Location: University of South Carolina School of Law Auditorium, Columbia, South Carolina

Event: Reception and Public Forum

Partners: South Carolina Women Lawyers Association

The League of Women Voters of South Carolina culminated its two-year project focusing on the state judicial system's diversity and independence with a public forum entitled "The State of the Judiciary in South Carolina: From Research to Reality." The forum was held on Tuesday, August 7 at the University of South Carolina School of Law Auditorium. Speakers included Senator Larry Martin, new Judiciary Committee Chair and Judicial Merit Selection Commission Vice Chair; Representative Leon Howard, past Chair, South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus; Judge Carolyn Matthews, President of the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association; Robert Wilcox, University of South Carolina Law School Dean; Alice Paylor, South Carolina Bar Association President-Elect; and Charleston School of Law Professor John Simpkins, who presented his research on the state of judicial diversity in South Carolina. The forum was moderated by Charleston School of Law Professor Constance Anastopoulo. The program was free and open to the public, and free CLEs for South Carolina attorneys were available.

"We wanted to give students the chance to learn about the importance of judicial diversity, so we asked them to explore visually the notion that a diverse judiciary is important to South Carolina because it instills in citizens confidence that the courts are fair and impartial," said Linda Bilanchone, chair of the project for the League of Spartanburg County.

All entries are available on the contest Facebook page. The winning students were featured in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal (online and print editions) during the week of May 28. Ceremonies were held concurrently at the students’ high schools, where they and their principals were presented engraved iPads.Carder Jones, The Scholars Academy/Dorman High School